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Formula 1

Gabriel Bortoleto, aiming to be Brazil’s next Senna

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In the first of a new mini-series where Motorsport.com is delving into the burgeoning Formula 1 careers of the six 2025 rookies, today we’re introducing new Sauber driver Gabriel Bortoleto.

The 20-year-old hails from Sao Paulo and has already built an impressive junior motorsport career.

Like Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri before him, Bortoleto arrives at the top tier having won back-to-back Formula 3 (known as GP3 when Leclerc and Russell won this title) and Formula 2 championships at the first attempt.

Before then, he produced decent returns in Italian Formula 4 and the Formula Regional European championship after moving to Italy aged 13 with his coach Francesco di Mauro.

Bortoleto’s family have considerable wealth, with his father Lincoln Oliveira getting rich in Brazil’s telecommunications industry in the 1990s. They are understood to have had close links with Brazil’s most recent debuting F1 driver, Felipe Nasr, on his way up the single-seater ranks before making his own F1 bow with Sauber back in 2015.

But that’s far from Bortoleto’s only existing tie to the top of the single seater ladder, as he has been managed by Fernando Alonso’s A14 company since 2023.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing celebrates after winning the championship

Gabriel Bortoleto, Invicta Racing celebrates after winning the championship

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

A14 helped to secure his berth with the Trident team with which Bortoleto went on to win that year’s F3 title – taking two wins and one pole in the process.

He produced similar numbers in winning the 2024 F2 title with the Invicta squad (two wins, two poles), but what set him apart in both successful campaigns was his ability to bring home consistent points when his title rivals floundered through various stages.

By 2024, Bortoleto had joined the books at McLaren, which agreed to release him from his junior driver status to go to Sauber when the soon-to-be Audi squad came calling as 2024 concluded. McLaren will have no F1 seat openings until the end of 2026 at the earliest and Bortoleto had nowhere further to progress up the ladder.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella spoke warmly of Bortoleto’s achievements last year, calling him “humble” and “at no point arrogant” – even when the 2024 F2 season started off with a struggle to adapt to the championship’s new spec car.

Alonso took a typically more bombastic approach compared to his former race engineer.

“I know there are a lot of talks about the young generation – a lot of rookies also next year, very talented all of them – but the best is Gabriel,” the Aston Martin driver said at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year. “He showed it on track with the same cars.”

When asked by Motorsport.com how he would choose to introduce himself to F1 fans at the recent F175 Live event in London, Bortoleto replied: “I don’t know. I try to be myself as much as I can. I don’t try to be different.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber C45

Gabriel Bortoleto, Kick Sauber C45

Photo by: Sauber F1 Team

“Let’s say, when I’m on track or when I’m around cameras or whatever, I try to be who I am. Who I always was. You can say I try to be funny… (“But you are very funny,” interjected new Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg) Thank you. I don’t know. I just try to be like this.

“And in the car, I believe I try to work very hard to achieve every dream I had. It was the same in Formula 3 and Formula 2. I work very hard to achieve the championships.

“A lot of days. Doing simulator work with the team. Spending time with engineers. So, I don’t think the approach will be different in Formula 1. That’s a little bit how I describe myself. But we will see this season. You will see and I don’t need to tell you because it’s even difficult for myself to speak about me.”

Hulkenberg felt he and Bortoleto bonded well during their initial sponsor commitments together in the off-season, ahead of what is expected to be a tricky campaign for the Sauber squad.

Nevertheless, Hulkenberg said Bortoleto had been “fast as hell” in Bahrain testing last month, where he also highlighted his team-mate’s abilities as a fast learner.

Elsewhere in the paddock at that event, Bortoleto’s willingness to criticise the changes to Testing of Previous Cars rules for 2025, which effectively make him one of the most unprepared F1 rookies ever in terms of mileage in older machinery combined with restricted pre-season test running, went down well in terms of the youngster showing a mature character.

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Bortoleto now enters F1 with the weight of a motorsport-mad nation behind him. He’s well aware of the reaction granted to Argentina’s Franco Colapinto unexpected and memorable F1 run last year, which in turn raises expectations on what he might achieve in 2025.

Sauber’s likely struggles to escape Q1 on pace means he can make the expected rookie errors away from the strongest glare of the F1 media spotlight, but strong results against a driver as excellent as Hulkenberg could be the making of a long career at the top level.

Bortoleto arrives as a wealthy young racing driver looking to inspire Brazil through his charming character and racing speed. As an Ayrton Senna-like story goes, it’s already off to a solid start…

In this article

Alex Kalinauckas

Formula 1

Gabriel Bortoleto

Sauber

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Formula 1

McLaren ahead of Red Bull?

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A crucial disclaimer after every Formula 1 testing session – including this week’s one – is that lap times say little.

Teams do not know each other’s exact programmes and this is even more true for outsiders. In particular, single-lap times say very little, as no team is showing its full hand yet while both fuel levels and engine modes are a big variable.

However, the long-run pace calculated by our data partner PACETEQ says more, especially when combined with GPS data and top speeds that can reveal a bit more about engine modes and possible sandbagging.

It means that the data does show a pattern in the end, of course with all the usual reservations and the note that teams will develop their cars towards the 2025 season opener in Melbourne on 14-16 March.

But as things stand, which F1 team ranks where after pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit?

10. Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber C45

Nico Hulkenberg, Kick Sauber C45

Photo by: Sauber F1 Team

It is a common belief across the F1 paddock that Sauber remains bottom of the pecking order, having finished last in the 2024 championship.

The C45 looks unstable and at the circuit’s double left, Turns 9 and 10, the Sauber drivers’ lines were different each lap with the car unable to do what Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto wanted it to do.

Sauber’s long runs were also unimpressive with an average gap of 1.3 seconds per lap. But, this comes as little surprise because much of its focus is already on 2026, when Sauber will morph into the Audi F1 Team to kickstart the next era of technical regulations.

9. Racing Bulls

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Although in a livery ranking Racing Bulls would be near the top, the 2025 F1 campaign is expected to be a difficult one for the Italian outfit.

Its driver Yuki Tsunoda confirmed this belief, as he explained that the team is in a weaker position now than it was one year ago in comparison to its rivals. So, the Japanese driver expects the team to struggle to score points in the opening rounds of 2025.

Racing Bulls’ long run pace was not too bad though, with an average gap of around one second per lap to McLaren. Tsuonda is still playing it cautiously and he will have a rookie team-mate this year in Isack Hadjar, who replaces now Red Bull driver Liam Lawson.

8. Haas

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

The margins between the midfield teams remain extremely small, which makes it difficult to position said squads in an exact ranking. 

The same goes for Haas, who did not really show a clear picture in the first two days of testing. It did produce some long runs with new signing Esteban Ocon on the final day, but it was not with a full tank or full race simulation. 

Ocon was over a second slower than McLaren in Paceteq’s numbers, but showed relatively little tyre degradation. It is what characterised Haas in 2024 and the American outfit seems to be building on it. 

7. Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Aston Martin is firmly focusing on the regulation overhaul in 2026, as it has signed legendary F1 car designer Adrian Newey while Honda is set to arrive as a power unit supplier. 

But, a team that’s as ambitious as the Silverstone-based outfit will be reluctant to see 2025 turn into a torturous campaign yet pre-season testing was not impressive.

Of course, Lance Stroll’s physical condition did not help forcing Aston Martin to switch its approach on the final day, but at no point did the British team really show a glimpse of speed or potential.

The car seemed stable when watching trackside at Turns 9 and 10, but both the short and long runs were not particularly quick.

6. Williams

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Williams was a positive surprise of the three-day test in Bahrain, even though the squad has made no secret of its focus mainly being on 2026.

But its new driver line-up of four-time grand prix winner Carlos Sainz and double podium sitter Alex Albon has no doubt helped things. Sainz, who recently joined from Ferrari, has integrated himself into the team rather nicely and Williams boss James Vowles has been impressed by his feedback and experience.

Although Williams’ single-lap times offer little detail, its long-run pace compared to fellow midfield squads is relatively good. The British outfit had a productive test without any significant problems, so it looks set to become a serious player within the midfield.

5. Alpine

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Photo by: Alpine

F1 has four teams which are significantly ahead, so fifth-place is simply a case of ‘best of the rest’.

Alpine seems favourite for that tag after an impressive testing session, which marks a remarkable turnaround from 12 months ago when it had an overweight car. But that weight has now gone so Alpine’s pace looks promising and in the calculated long runs, Pierre Gasly was around six-tenths slower than the leaders. 

There was a significant difference between Gasly and his rookie team-mate Jack Doohan though, so an unbalanced driver line-up unlike Williams may come back to haunt.

4. Mercedes

George Russell, Mercedes

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

George Russell was roughly at Ferrari’s level in the long runs, as the Mercedes car looked relatively stable while watching trackside and the team suffered no major setbacks.

There being no setbacks is of course the most important thing at winter testing, especially as Russell previously indicated that Mercedes does not want to fall into the poor development trap of recent years.

Currently, there are no signs that that will happen in 2025 but Mercedes is still slightly behind on pace compared to the reigning constructors’ champion squad McLaren. 

Alongside Russell will be rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who had a solid pre-season test. ‘Solid’ is also the word that goes with Mercedes’ test as a collective.

3. Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari SF-25

Photo by: Ferrari

Expectations for Ferrari this year are high, as it has added to a runner-up finish in 2024 with the signing of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

So, the Scuderia is of course aiming to end its 17-year championship drought but its long-run pace in Bahrain was not particularly impressive.

Ferrari lost time on the straights, which may indicate something about engine modes while Hamilton started a race simulation on Friday and aborted it after 12 laps.

The times and tyre degradation put him over four tenths behind McLaren, according to Paceteq, which was similar to team-mate Charles Leclerc a day earlier. More to come from Ferrari.

2. Red Bull

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

It is pretty close between the top teams making it somewhat difficult to judge. But on Wednesday, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko and the four-time, reigning world champion Max Verstappen showed great optimism about the RB21.

Marko said its balance problems had been largely fixed, while Verstappen added that he is yet to encounter any negative surprises with this year’s challenger. But, the Dutchman is still adamant that there is more work to be done with technical director Pierre Wache sharing said belief. 

A full race simulation was also only completed by new driver Liam Lawson, who was seven-tenths short of McLaren’s Lando Norris. But if that were Verstappen in the car, the gap would have no doubt been less putting Red Bull just behind McLaren.

1. McLaren

Lando Norris, McLaren

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Reigning champion McLaren is the clear favourite for the 2025 F1 season. Speaking to members of the paddock, the consensus is that nobody really knows how far behind the rest may be and when looking at the data “it could be two-tenths, three-tenths or five-tenths”.

Nonetheless, McLaren has impressed and particularly when one considers the long run that Norris completed on Thursday. The 2024 drivers’ championship runner-up was consistently fast and the onboard footage may scare rivals even more. 

Competitors are also looking at McLaren’s 2025 car with interest. Red Bull, for instance, called McLaren’s new front suspension ‘interesting, but also risky’. More specifically, that’s about what McLaren is doing with the positioning of the wishbones and anti-dive. So far, it all seems to be working and at a track McLaren has found difficult in recent years.

Pecking order F1 Testing

Pecking order F1 Testing

In this article

Ronald Vording

Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton

Max Verstappen

Pierre Gasly

George Russell

Charles Leclerc

Lando Norris

Liam Lawson

Oscar Piastri

Gabriel Bortoleto

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Ferrari

Red Bull Racing

Mercedes

Sauber

McLaren

Alpine

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Formula 1

The winners and losers from 2025 F1 testing in Bahrain

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Winner: Williams makes an impressive start

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Carlos Sainz, Williams

Photo by: Peter Fox – Getty Images

Posting headline lap times isn’t always a sign of true performance, and in the early 2000s, you might have even accused Williams of doing it just to keep their newly signed sponsors happy. Carlos Sainz’s fastest time on Thursday and Alex Albon’s heroics on Friday don’t necessarily mean they are now ready to challenge McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull (which, to me, looks like the competitive order at the front). However, there are genuine reasons to believe that the Grove-based team can now aim for fifth place in the constructors’ championship – which would be a massive step forward for them. — Oleg Karpov

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Loser: Sauber poised to struggle

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber

Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images

According to an old paddock saying, there are no weak teams in F1. They all have highly skilled and incredibly expensive engineers working for them, people who could just as easily be developing spacecraft – but every year, one team has to finish last.

And all signs suggest that this year, it’s going to be Sauber.

As the team continues to prepare for its transformation into Audi next year, it’s only natural that their main focus isn’t on the present when the future holds such importance. What we’ve seen in Bahrain over the past three days only reinforces that impression. — O.K.

Winner: Constructors’ champion McLaren looks strongest

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images

The world champions picked up where they left off in Abu Dhabi – seemingly as the class of the field. This is based on Lando Norris’s astonishing Day 2 race simulation, putting 30s into Ferrari and Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc and Andrea Kimi Antonelli respectively, on similar programmes. Oscar Piastri then seemed to have the long-run edge on George Russell, even as temperatures went up and things got harder for the drivers on the final day.

The team is trying hard to avoid complacency – Norris and Piastri want the team to improve rear grip even around what is a typical problem in Bahrain where, finally, the ‘home’ team has gone well. — Alex Kalinauckas

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Loser: The Bahrain International Circuit had a bad couple of days

Lando Norris, McLaren

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Without wishing to offend our hosts, this was a baffling and pretty bad week for the Bahrain circuit.

The power cut on day one had serious safety implications given the floodlights went out in gloomy conditions where famously headlight-less race cars were still blasting around.

There was nothing the circuit did wrong in the shambles of only two teams having wet-weather tyres to run in the rare desert rain on Day 2, but, in addition to the bus ending up in the Turns 9/10 runoff that caused a red flag as the final session started on Day 3, Motorsport.com observed a chair having been blown into another runoff earlier on the final day. This took a long time to be removed, which was concerning in the blustery conditions. An odd week, overall. —A.K.

Winner: Rookie Bearman proves to be a wise head on a young man’s body

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Flying under the radar, Oliver Bearman made more headlines for spotting what Lewis Hamilton had changed on Ferrari’s steering wheel than he did for his own performances on track. And that’s precisely what the Haas team appeared to want. Bearman spent most of his time performing race simulations, doing so cleanly and without drawing any attention to the Haas car’s pace.

Reviewing the in-car footage revealed lots of early lifting ahead of Turn 1 and no stuffing the VF-25 into corners. His stealthy approach was undone only on the last day when his engine cover partially delaminated while out on track. —Stuart Codling

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Loser: Stroll struggles before being laid low with sickness

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Lance Stroll was the driver of the least visible Aston Martin since the vanishing Vanquish in the risible James Bond movie Die Another Day – even before illness ruled him out of the final track session.

The AMR25 accomplished precious few laps over the period of the test, most accomplished by the evergreen Fernando Alonso rather than the boss’s son. It’ll be a painful debrief. — S.C.

Winner: Another vote for McLaren, but Red Bull could spring a surprise in Melbourne

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB21

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB21

Photo by: Erik Junius

In terms of race speed, McLaren was the benchmark of the week. Norris’ race sim on Thursday and Piastri’s on Friday were highly impressive, and give an indication that the team may be able to have a serious shot at the drivers’ title this year.

It is a shame that Max Verstappen did not do a complete race simulation, so Red Bull remains a bit of a question mark. And from the midfield pack it seems that Williams has progressed well, although their race pace was nowhere near as fast as their one-lap pace. — Christian Nimmervoll
 

Read Also:

Loser: Mercedes loses its mojo

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Clive Mason/Getty Images

From what was the top four teams of 2024, Mercedes’ long run on the final day looked the least impressive. It seems the team has lost its mojo a bit after the 2021 Abu Dhabi drama, and it will need to rebuild for 2026.

I don’t see them challenging the likes of McLaren, Verstappen and probably Ferrari on a regular basis. Further back, from a German view, the testing performance of Sauber with Nico Hulkenberg has been nothing but disappointing. I assume this will increase pressure inside the Audi camp, and it will certainly not help James Key to silence his critics in Germany. —C.N.

Photos from the Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Day 3

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In this article

Motorsport.com staff writers

Formula 1

Lance Stroll

Oliver Bearman

Mercedes

Sauber

McLaren

Williams

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Formula 1

Who are F1 drivers’ race engineers in 2025?

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A race engineer has one of the most important roles in any Formula 1 team. It is their job to optimise the performance of the driver-and-car combination. Throughout the race weekend, they translate the feedback coming from the driver into set-up decisions to achieve the best possible result. And, except in rare cases, they are the only ones who communicate directly with drivers via team radio.

Here’s who F1 drivers will be working with in 2025.

Norris will continue to work with Will Joseph, who has been part of the Briton’s crew since his F1 debut in 2019. The pair already have a good working relationship, which should help Norris in this year’s campaign. In 2023, McLaren experimented with alternating engineers on Norris’ side of the garage, with Jose Manuel Lopez taking on the role for some races, but ultimately Joseph remained as the English racer’s sole race engineer.

Lando Norris and Will Joseph

Lando Norris and Will Joseph

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Tom Stallard, who won a silver medal in rowing for Team GB at the 2008 Olympic Games, has been with McLaren for almost two decades. As a race engineer, he has worked with Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo. He has partnered with Piastri since the Australian’s F1 debut two years ago and will continue in the same role in 2025.

Oscar Piastri with Tom Stallard

Oscar Piastri with Tom Stallard

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Hamilton will be working with one of the most experienced race engineers in F1. Riccardo Adami joined Ferrari from Toro Rosso in 2015 and has since worked with Sebastian Vettel and Sainz. This will be Hamilton’s first change of race engineer in more than a decade, as Peter Bonnington has decided to stay at Mercedes.

Riccardo Adami, Ferrari

Riccardo Adami, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

In May 2024, Bryan Bozzi replaced Xavi Marcos as Leclerc’s race engineer. While Marcos’ infamous “We are checking” replies became the source of memes about Ferrari’s alleged incompetence in race strategy, Bozzi sounds much more confident and even a little stern with Leclerc – and the Monegasque has already secured three victories alongside the Italian-Danish engineer. Bozzi joined Ferrari in 2012 and has worked in Leclerc’s crew since the driver joined the team in 2019. He was previously his performance engineer.

Bryan Bozzi, Scuderia Ferrari

Bryan Bozzi, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

The Jason Statham of F1 will continue to guide Verstappen despite his promotion within Red Bull. It’s hard to imagine another engineer handling the Dutchman’s temperament as effectively. Gianpiero Lambiase started in F1 when Verstappen was still in primary school, working with Paul Di Resta and Sergio Perez at Force India. He was initially hired by Red Bull to replace Guillaume Rocquelin as Vettel’s engineer, but when the German left for Ferrari, Lambiase ended up working with Daniil Kvyat. After Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in mid-2016, Lambiase was paired with then-18-year-old Verstappen. They’ve been inseparable since.

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The second Red Bull car is entrusted to Richard Wood, who, like incoming driver Lawson, is relatively new to the role. Woody, as he’s known in the team, has been with Red Bull for more than a decade, rising through the ranks before joining Perez’s side of the garage as a performance engineer four years ago. Last year he had his first stint as race engineer, replacing Hugh Bird, who missed several races through paternity leave. Christian Horner cited this as a key factor in Wood’s “natural” promotion, with Bird now concentrating on factory work in order to spend more time with his family.

Richard Wood with Sergio Perez

Richard Wood with Sergio Perez

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Mercedes

It’s hard to imagine a better coach for the Mercedes youngster at the start of his F1 career. Peter Bonnington’s last two drivers are the most successful in F1 history. Bono joined the Brackley-based team in the Honda era, won the 2009 championship as Jenson Button’s performance engineer when the outfit was Brawn GP, and then retained the role for Michael Schumacher when it became Mercedes. He went on to take over as Hamilton’s race engineer in 2013, and together they broke many records. As well as keeping Antonelli’s tyres in good shape, Bono – now head of race engineering – will oversee both sides of the garage.

Lewis Hamilton with Peter Bonnington

Lewis Hamilton with Peter Bonnington

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

The lead Mercedes driver will continue to work with Marcus Dudley, who has been Russell’s race engineer since 2023. Since then, he has not only helped the Briton learn the difference between sweat and rain but has also guided him to a couple of grand prix victories. Dudley has been with Mercedes for more than a decade, having started his F1 career in 2006.

Marcus Dudley, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Marcus Dudley, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Aston Martin

Alonso’s previous engineer, Chris Cronin, who also worked with Vettel and Perez, has been promoted within the team. Alonso will now work with Andrew Vizard, who has moved from Lance Stroll’s side of the garage. Vizard began working with Stroll at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix and has now been assigned to Alonso. He joined Aston Martin at the start of 2023 after five years with Williams.

Andrew Vizard with Lance Stroll

Andrew Vizard with Lance Stroll

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The American engineer started his F1 career with Marussia and spent the last decade with Haas. Gary Gannon was the race engineer for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen before working with German drivers Mick Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg. He built a strong reputation at Haas, and his move to Aston Martin is a logical career progression.

Gary Gannon worked with Nico Hulkenberg for the last two years at Haas

Gary Gannon worked with Nico Hulkenberg for the last two years at Haas

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

This is John Howard’s second season as Gasly’s race engineer after the team promoted the Frenchman’s previous engineer, Karel Loos, to deputy head of track engineering. Howard has been with Alpine for 13 years, starting as a mechanical design engineer and working his way up through other roles, including engineering coordinator and senior performance engineer.

John Howard, Alpine race engineer

John Howard, Alpine race engineer

Photo by: Alpine

For the past few years, Josh Peckett has been Esteban Ocon’s race engineer, famously guiding him to victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. The pair reunited at Alpine, having both worked at Manor in 2016 when the Frenchman made his F1 debut – although Peckett was on a different side of the garage at the time. Now their paths have parted again, with Ocon moving to Haas and Peckett remaining at Alpine, where he’ll work with Jack Doohan.

Jack Doohan with Josh Peckett

Jack Doohan with Josh Peckett

Photo by: Alpine

Haas

Ocon’s race engineer will be under the spotlight this year as Laura Mueller is the first woman to hold such a position in F1. The 33-year-old German joined Haas in 2022 after a career in sportscars, DTM and GT. She has been a performance engineer for the past two years and will now help Ocon settle in at Haas.

Laura Müller and Esteban Ocon

Laura Müller and Esteban Ocon

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Haas changed both race engineers over the winter. Gary Gannon and Mark Slade left the team to make way for Mueller and Ronan O’Hare. The latter will now work with Bearman. The Irish engineer has a wealth of experience, not only in F1 but also in other categories, including Formula E. In F1, before Haas, he worked for Williams and also spent a few years at Brackley.

Oliver Bearman with Ronan O'Hare

Oliver Bearman with Ronan O’Hare

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Ernesto Desiderio is Tsunoda’s second race engineer in F1. The Japanese started his career with Mattia Spini, but the latter was promoted within the team in the middle of last year, so Yuki has been working with Desiderio since the Monza race. Ernesto joined the team in 2023 from Williams. He previously worked at Haas.

Yuki Tsunoda with race engineer Ernesto Desiderio

Yuki Tsunoda with race engineer Ernesto Desiderio

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The French rookie will work alongside compatriot Pierre Hamelin, who has been one of the Faenza-based team’s race engineers since 2016. He was promoted to the role ahead of that year’s Spanish Grand Prix and has since worked with a number of drivers including Kvyat, Brendon Hartley, Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and most recently Lawson.

Pierre Hamelin has been working with several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo

Pierre Hamelin has been working with several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Williams

Having started his career as a mechanic in the European Le Mans Series and British Touring Car Championship, James Urwin joined Williams in 2014 and has since worked as a race engineer for Stroll and Russell. The coming season will be his fourth with Albon.

Alex Albon, Williams Racing, with his engineer James Urwin on the grid

Alex Albon, Williams Racing, with his engineer James Urwin on the grid

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Gaetan Jego joined Williams in 2020, having previously spent more than a decade with the ART Grand Prix team. He moved to F1 from the role of LMP1 technical director when the outfit supported SMP Racing in sportscars, working with Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto at the end of last year. Now he’s tasked with helping four-time race winner Sainz.

Gaetan Jego, Williams Racing Race Engineer

Gaetan Jego, Williams Racing Race Engineer

Photo by: Williams

Steven Petrik joined Sauber last year from Ferrari. He spent eight years in Maranello as a performance engineer, most recently on Sainz’s side of the garage. After moving to Sauber, he replaced Valtteri Bottas’ engineer Alex Chan and stayed in that role until the end of the season.

Steven Petrik

Steven Petrik

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Jose Manuel Lopez joined Sauber from McLaren over the winter. For the majority of his time at Woking, which began in 2020, he was Norris’ performance engineer, and on a number of occasions in 2023 he even acted as his race engineer, deputising for Will Joseph, particularly while the Briton was on paternity leave.

Last year, however, he moved to McLaren’s driver development department and it was in this role that he had the opportunity to oversee Bortoleto’s performance in Formula 2 – so although the Brazilian is a rookie in F1, he’s already had experience of working with his new race engineer. Prior to McLaren, Lopez spent several years at Haas, where he was one of the team’s first employees.

Jose Manuel Lopez with Lando Norris

Jose Manuel Lopez with Lando Norris

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

In this article

Oleg Karpov

Formula 1

Ferrari

Red Bull Racing

RB

McLaren

Williams

Sauber

Aston Martin Racing

Mercedes

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Formula 1

Who are F1 drivers’ race engineers in 2025?

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A race engineer has one of the most important roles in any Formula 1 team. It is their job to optimise the performance of the driver-and-car combination. Throughout the race weekend, they translate the feedback coming from the driver into set-up decisions to achieve the best possible result. And, except in rare cases, they are the only ones who communicate directly with drivers via team radio.

Here’s who F1 drivers will be working with in 2025.

Norris will continue to work with Will Joseph, who has been part of the Briton’s crew since his F1 debut in 2019. The pair already have a good working relationship, which should help Norris in this year’s campaign. In 2023, McLaren experimented with alternating engineers on Norris’ side of the garage, with Jose Manuel Lopez taking on the role for some races, but ultimately Joseph remained as the English racer’s sole race engineer.

Lando Norris and Will Joseph

Lando Norris and Will Joseph

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Tom Stallard, who won a silver medal in rowing for Team GB at the 2008 Olympic Games, has been with McLaren for almost two decades. As a race engineer, he has worked with Jenson Button, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo. He has partnered with Piastri since the Australian’s F1 debut two years ago and will continue in the same role in 2025.

Oscar Piastri with Tom Stallard

Oscar Piastri with Tom Stallard

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Hamilton will be working with one of the most experienced race engineers in F1. Riccardo Adami joined Ferrari from Toro Rosso in 2015 and has since worked with Sebastian Vettel and Sainz. This will be Hamilton’s first change of race engineer in more than a decade, as Peter Bonnington has decided to stay at Mercedes.

Riccardo Adami, Ferrari

Riccardo Adami, Ferrari

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

In May 2024, Bryan Bozzi replaced Xavi Marcos as Leclerc’s race engineer. While Marcos’ infamous “We are checking” replies became the source of memes about Ferrari’s alleged incompetence in race strategy, Bozzi sounds much more confident and even a little stern with Leclerc – and the Monegasque has already secured three victories alongside the Italian-Danish engineer. Bozzi joined Ferrari in 2012 and has worked in Leclerc’s crew since the driver joined the team in 2019. He was previously his performance engineer.

Bryan Bozzi, Scuderia Ferrari

Bryan Bozzi, Scuderia Ferrari

Photo by: Ferrari

The Jason Statham of F1 will continue to guide Verstappen despite his promotion within Red Bull. It’s hard to imagine another engineer handling the Dutchman’s temperament as effectively. Lambiase started in F1 when Verstappen was still in primary school, working with Paul Di Resta and Sergio Perez at Force India. He was initially hired by Red Bull to replace Guillaume Rocquelin as Vettel’s engineer, but when the German left for Ferrari, Lambiase ended up working with Daniil Kvyat. After Kvyat was demoted to Toro Rosso in mid-2016, Lambiase was paired with then-18-year-old Verstappen. They’ve been inseparable since.

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing

Gianpiero Lambiase, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The second Red Bull car is entrusted to Richard Wood, who, like incoming driver Lawson, is relatively new to the role. Woody, as he’s known in the team, has been with Red Bull for more than a decade, rising through the ranks before joining Perez’s side of the garage as a performance engineer four years ago. Last year he had his first stint as race engineer, replacing Hugh Bird, who missed several races through paternity leave. Christian Horner cited this as a key factor in Wood’s “natural” promotion, with Bird now concentrating on factory work in order to spend more time with his family.

Richard Wood with Sergio Perez

Richard Wood with Sergio Perez

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Mercedes

It’s hard to imagine a better coach for the Mercedes youngster at the start of his F1 career. Peter Bonnington’s last two drivers are the most successful in F1 history. Bono joined the Brackley-based team in the Honda era, won the 2009 championship as Jenson Button’s performance engineer when the outfit was Brawn GP, and then retained the role for Michael Schumacher when it became Mercedes. He went on to take over as Hamilton’s race engineer in 2013, and together they broke many records. As well as keeping Antonelli’s tyres in good shape, Bono – now head of race engineering – will oversee both sides of the garage.

Lewis Hamilton with Peter Bonnington

Lewis Hamilton with Peter Bonnington

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

The lead Mercedes driver (at least until Antonelli proves otherwise) will continue to work with Marcus Dudley, who has been Russell’s race engineer since 2023. Since then, he has not only helped the Briton learn the difference between sweat and rain but has also guided him to a couple of grand prix victories. Dudley has been with Mercedes for more than a decade, having started his F1 career in 2006.

Marcus Dudley, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Marcus Dudley, Mercedes-AMG F1 Team

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Aston Martin

Alonso’s previous engineer, Chris Cronin, who also worked with Vettel and Perez, has been promoted within the team. Alonso will now work with Andrew Vizard, who has moved from Lance Stroll’s side of the garage. Vizard began working with Stroll at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix and has now been assigned to Alonso. He joined Aston Martin at the start of 2023 after five years with Williams.

Andrew Vizard with Lance Stroll

Andrew Vizard with Lance Stroll

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The American engineer started his F1 career with Marussia and spent the last decade with Haas. Gary Gannon was the race engineer for Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen before working with German drivers Mick Schumacher and Nico Hulkenberg. He built a strong reputation at Haas, and his move to Aston Martin is a logical career progression.

Gary Gannon worked with Nico Hulkenberg for the last two years at Haas

Gary Gannon worked with Nico Hulkenberg for the last two years at Haas

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

This is John Howard’s second season as Gasly’s race engineer after the team promoted the Frenchman’s previous engineer, Karel Loos, to deputy head of track engineering. Howard has been with Alpine for 13 years, starting as a mechanical design engineer and working his way up through other roles, including engineering coordinator and senior performance engineer.

John Howard, Alpine race engineer

John Howard, Alpine race engineer

Photo by: Alpine

For the past few years, Josh Peckett has been Esteban Ocon’s race engineer, famously guiding him to victory in the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. The pair reunited at Alpine, having both worked at Manor in 2016 when the Frenchman made his F1 debut – although Peckett was on a different side of the garage at the time. Now their paths have parted again, with Ocon moving to Haas and Peckett remaining at Alpine, where he’ll work with Doohan.

Jack Doohan with Josh Peckett

Jack Doohan with Josh Peckett

Photo by: Alpine

Haas

Ocon’s race engineer will be under the spotlight this year as Laura Mueller is the first woman to hold such a position in F1. The 33-year-old German joined Haas in 2022 after a long career in sportscars, DTM and GT. She has been a performance engineer for the past two years and will now help Ocon settle in at Haas.

Laura Müller and Esteban Ocon

Laura Müller and Esteban Ocon

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Haas changed both race engineers over the winter. Gary Gannon and Mark Slade left the team to make way for Mueller and Ronan O’Hare. The latter will now work with Bearman. The Irish engineer has a wealth of experience, not only in F1 but also in other categories, including Formula E. In F1, before Haas, he worked for Williams and also spent a few years at Brackley.

Oliver Bearman with Ronan O'Hare

Oliver Bearman with Ronan O’Hare

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Ernesto Desiderio is Tsunoda’s second race engineer in F1. The Japanese started his career with Mattia Spini, but the latter was promoted within the team in the middle of last year, so Yuki has been working with Desiderio since the Monza race. Ernesto joined the team in 2023 from Williams. He previously worked at Haas.

Yuki Tsunoda with race engineer Ernesto Desiderio

Yuki Tsunoda with race engineer Ernesto Desiderio

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The French rookie will work alongside compatriot Pierre Hamelin, who has been one of the Faenza-based team’s race engineers since 2016. He was promoted to the role ahead of that year’s Spanish Grand Prix and has since worked with a number of drivers including Kvyat, Brendon Hartley, Gasly, Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and most recently Lawson.

Pierre Hamelin has been working with several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo

Pierre Hamelin has been working with several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Williams

Having started his career as a mechanic in the European Le Mans Series and British Touring Car Championship, James Urwin joined Williams in 2014 and has since worked as a race engineer for Stroll and Russell. The coming season will be his fourth with Albon.

Alex Albon, Williams Racing, with his engineer James Urwin on the grid

Alex Albon, Williams Racing, with his engineer James Urwin on the grid

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Gaetan Jego joined Williams in 2020, having previously spent more than a decade with the ART Grand Prix team. He moved to F1 from the role of LMP1 technical director when the outfit supported SMP Racing in sportscars, working with Nicholas Latifi, Logan Sargeant and Franco Colapinto at the end of last year. Now he’s tasked with helping four-time race winner Sainz.

Gaetan Jego, Williams Racing Race Engineer

Gaetan Jego, Williams Racing Race Engineer

Photo by: Williams

Steven Petrik joined Sauber last year from Ferrari. He spent eight years in Maranello as a performance engineer, most recently on Sainz’s side of the garage. After moving to Sauber, he replaced Valtteri Bottas’ engineer Alex Chan and stayed in that role until the end of the season.

Steven Petrik

Steven Petrik

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

Jose Manuel Lopez joined Sauber from McLaren over the winter. For the majority of his time at Woking, which began in 2020, he was Norris’ performance engineer, and on a number of occasions in 2023 he even acted as his race engineer, deputising for Will Joseph, particularly while the Briton was on paternity leave.

Last year, however, the Spaniard moved to McLaren’s driver development department and it was in this role that he had the opportunity to oversee Bortoleto’s performance in Formula 2 – so although the Brazilian is a rookie in F1, he’s already had experience of working with his new race engineer. Prior to McLaren, Lopez spent several years at Haas, where he was one of the team’s first employees.

Jose Manuel Lopez with Lando Norris

Jose Manuel Lopez with Lando Norris

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

In this article

Oleg Karpov

Formula 1

Ferrari

Red Bull Racing

Mercedes

Sauber

McLaren

Racing Bulls

Williams

Aston Martin Racing

Haas F1 Team

Alpine

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2025 F1 season/Sauber

Sauber presents its livery for the 2025 F1 season · RaceFans

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Sauber has shown off its final livery before it rebrands as Audi’s Formula 1 team next year.

The Swiss-based squad presented their latest look at Formula 1’s official pre-season event in London. They are due to open an engineering hub in the United Kingdom later this year.

While Sauber have kept the same identity for one more year, they have changed both drivers for the upcoming season. Nico Hulkenberg has joined from Haas alongside Formula 2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto. Former drivers Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are now in reserve roles at Mercedes and Ferrari respectively.

Pictures: 2025 Sauber F1 livery

This article will be updated

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Culture/Formula 1

Where to watch, what to expect, and why it exists

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Formula 1 is about to host its first-ever season livery launch party in London. Technically the event is called “F1 75 Live at The O2” — landing, as it is, at the outset of the 75th season in the sport’s history. At the centerpiece of the event, all 10 F1 teams will take their turn unveiling their car (or their car’s main livery, at least) for the 2025 season — on a stage, in a massive arena, as well as in front of a global audience of millions. 

Given this is the first-ever event of it kind, the only concrete details we have are the ones we’ve been given by F1 itself.

Here’s everything you need to know about the F1 75 Live event at The O2 Arena in London:

When is the F1 75 Live event?

Everything kicks off at 5:30pm GMT, and the event is scheduled to last for five hours. 

How can I watch it?

 

Unless you were one of the lucky few to grab arena tickets in the literal minutes before they sold out, you can watch along on F1’s YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook pages.

What is the plan for the F1 75 Live event?

Traditionally, each team pulls the covers off its new cars in their own ways: a racetrack with a few media in attendance, or in more recent (and boring) ways, as an email or social media post with a few images of the new car’s paintwork and some canned driver quotes.

This time, Formula 1 has stepped in to bring all the teams together on one night in London in front of a live audience with musical acts, streaming the show for free. Though the event is fronting F1’s 75th anniversary, think of F1 75 Live more as an opening ceremony than a birthday party. 

More importantly, it’s F1’s chance to build up — and, possibly, better control — the biggest moment before cars hit the track for pre-season testing. By turning the normally workaday livery launches into a spectacle, there’s a chance to invent something of a 25th audience-friendly event in a schedule already stuffed with races. And, given the musical performances (more on those in a moment), there’s a chance to do something that’s a little more loose, and globally pop cultural, than the usual nose-down focus of a race weekend. 

How will the event go?

All 20 drivers will be there, plus the team bosses — as well as, of course, the new 2025 F1 cars.

Each team will have a seven minute segment on the O2 stage to do what they wish, meaning we are in for a range of interpretations when it comes to a livery launch. It’s worth noting: in advance of F1 75 Live, we’ve already seen both Williams and McLaren unveil their car designs — but not the liveries the cars will wear. For the other eight teams, everything we see will be new.

The running order will be the reverse of last season’s constructors’ championship standings, meaning the evening will kick off with Sauber and end with McLaren.

If you’re doing the math, 10 teams multiplied by seven minutes doesn’t nearly fill up a five-hour arena-sized production. That’s where the host and musical acts come into play.

What artists are performing at F1 75 Live?

F1 75 Live's musical line-up

F1 75 Live’s musical line-up

Photo by: Formula 1

F1 finally announced the event’s musical line-up on Monday, and it’s quite the varied bill. There’s American country singer Kane Brown and rapper mgk (formerly known as Machine Gun Kelly), who had a famous interaction with Sky F1’s Martin Brundle during the 2023 Sao Paulo GP that led to the two falling out.

Also performing are UK pop legends Take That, who these days perform as a trio, minus Robbie Williams.

Composer Bryan Tyler, who produced the F1 theme, will also provide the musical backdrop.

Who is hosting?

F1 75 Live Host

F1 75 Live Host

Photo by: Formula 1

The main emcee for the evening is Jack Whitehall, a London-born comedian and actor who is likely unrecognisable to the rest of the world save those who have seen “Jungle Cruise.”

Of course, since this is an F1 event, we’ll also see familiar faces from its broadcast channels, including Laura Winter and Lawrence Barretto. One we won’t see: Will Buxton, who left F1 TV to join Fox Sport’s IndyCar coverage for 2025.

Is there a way to make Lewis Hamilton central to this moment?

Absolutely. The F1 75 Live event will be Lewis Hamilton’s first public appearance with Ferrari. Expect this to generate its own flurry of headlines and social posts. 

What about the other 19 teams and drivers?

Every team, aside from McLaren and Aston Martin, have a new driver lineup in whole or in part, so we’ll get to see drivers wearing new uniforms and how those relationships are building up.

What’s the deal with the O2 Arena?

The O2 Arena is a large, multi-purpose arena located in east London, sitting beside the River Thames. It has the third-highest seating capacity of any indoor venue in the UK, with a capacity of 20,000. Originally it was called the Millennium Dome, but given how time operates, that quickly turned into a white elephant until sponsorship arrived from communication firm O2.

Whatever the name, the arena was (in 2023) the third-busiest music in the world, behind New York’s Madison Square Garden and the Movistar Arena in Chile. Which is to say, F1 didn’t skimp on the party’s location.

 

 

In this article

Ben Hunt

Formula 1

Culture

Fernando Alonso

Lewis Hamilton

Nico Hulkenberg

Carlos Sainz

Max Verstappen

Esteban Ocon

Pierre Gasly

Lance Stroll

George Russell

Charles Leclerc

Alex Albon

Lando Norris

Liam Lawson

Jack Doohan

Isack Hadjar

Yuki Tsunoda

Oscar Piastri

Oliver Bearman

Gabriel Bortoleto

Andrea Kimi Antonelli

Ferrari

Red Bull Racing

Mercedes

Sauber

McLaren

Racing Bulls

Williams

Aston Martin Racing

Haas F1 Team

Alpine

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Formula 1

All the back-up racers for 2025

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Formula 1 teams are well underway preparing for the forthcoming 2025 campaign, which will consist of 24 grands prix beginning in Melbourne on the 14-16 March.

The grid is set and all but two teams – McLaren and Aston Martin – have changed their driver line-up, meaning this year will have a new look.

But it is not just the full-time competitors that play a crucial role, as a team’s back-up driver does as well.

Reserve drivers act on standby during grand prix weekends and may contest one should a team’s regular driver be unable to. This happened at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, for example, as Oliver Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari because the Spaniard had appendicitis. 

F1 teams also employ simulator drivers, who test changes made to the car so that everybody can gain a greater understanding of the machine.

So, who are the drivers supporting their team behind the scenes for 2025?

Red Bull

  • Reserve driver: TBC
  • Simulation driver: Rudy van Buren

Liam Lawson served as Red Bull’s reserve driver at the start of the 2024 season, but then he replaced Daniel Ricciardo at sister squad RB – now Racing Bulls – for October’s United States Grand Prix onwards.

The New Zealander soon received another promotion, as he will be Max Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull in 2025 after Sergio Perez was dropped by the Austrian outfit. This means Red Bull is currently without an official reserve driver, though Lawson’s former team-mate Yuki Tsunoda is expected to step into the role. 

Meanwhile, Rudy van Buren will continue as Red Bull’s simulator test and development driver after joining in 2023.

Rudy van Buren, Red Bull F1 Simulator Test and Development Driver

Rudy van Buren, Red Bull F1 Simulator Test and Development Driver

Photo: Red Bull Racing

Valtteri Bottas has returned to Mercedes for the 2025 season, but in a reserve driver capacity having been Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate from 2017 to 2021. The 10-time grand prix winner left for Alfa Romeo – now Sauber – having been replaced by George Russell, who was previously at Williams after graduating to F1 as a Mercedes junior.

But the Swiss outfit opted for an all-new line-up this year ahead of its Audi takeover in 2026, leaving Bottas without a drive. So, in December 2024 Mercedes announced that the Finn was back with the Silver Arrows replacing former reserve Mick Schumacher, who is part of Alpine’s Hypercar programme.

Sharing the role with Bottas is the 2023 F2 championship runner-up Frederik Vesti, who started the position last year having become a Mercedes junior in 2021.

Zhou Guanyu has joined Ferrari as its reserve driver for 2025, having been part of its academy between 2015 and 2018. He initially left to become Renault’s development driver in 2019 before making his F1 debut with Alfa Romeo in 2022 but, like Bottas, he was dropped by the Hinwil-based outfit for this year. 

He will work alongside Antonio Giovinazzi, who was Zhou’s predecessor at Alfa Romeo. The Italian became Ferrari’s reserve driver in 2022 and Giovinazzi also competes for the historic brand in the World Endurance Championship, where he won the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Regarding Ferrari’s development drivers, that includes Arthur Leclerc who joined in 2024. He is the younger brother of full-time Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and is joined by Antonio Fuoco and Davide Rigon.

Zhou Guanyu, Ferrari reserve driver

Zhou Guanyu, Ferrari reserve driver

Photo by: Ferrari

McLaren is yet to announce who its reserve drivers for 2025 are, with previous incumbent Ryo Hirakawa leaving the post to fulfil the same duty at Alpine. But Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward has previously contested F1 practice sessions for the Woking-based team, so it is likely he will continue his commitments.

McLaren also employs Will Stevens, who spends a lot of time in the team’s simulator where he works closely with the engineers and regular drivers.

Aston Martin 

Aston Martin has retained Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne as its reserve drivers for 2025. Previously the team was able to call on the reserves of engine partner Mercedes in case of an emergency but in more recent years, Aston Martin has introduced its own reserve drivers. 

While Vandoorne joined from Mercedes in November 2022, Drugovich has graduated from the Aston Martin driver development programme and the 2022 F2 champion has worked with the squad since 2023.

Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin F1 Team

Felipe Drugovich, Aston Martin F1 Team

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

  • Reserve driver: Paul Aron, Ryo Hirakawa and Franco Colapinto

Jack Doohan will contest his first, full campaign in F1 this year after serving as Alpine’s reserve driver in 2024 before replacing Esteban Ocon at the Abu Dhabi season finale.

As a result, Alpine has announced Paul Aron, Ryo Hirakawa and Franco Colapinto as its reserve drivers for 2025.

Aron had a stellar F2 campaign last year, finishing third to champion Gabriel Bortoleto and Isack Hadjar, while Hirakawa has joined from McLaren where he held a similar role.

There is more hype around Colapinto though, who made his – relatively unexpected – F1 debut in Monza 2024 having replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams. He impressed immediately finishing 12th before taking points at his second grand prix in Azerbaijan with eighth.

But Williams had already announced Carlos Sainz as Alex Albon’s team-mate for 2025, so there was no full-time seat for Colapinto. As a result, he was snapped up by Alpine on a multi-year deal, where a spot may soon open up for the young Argentine given Doohan’s unsecure future.

Williams

  • Reserve driver: TBC
  • Development driver: Jamie Chadwick

Williams does not currently employ its own reserve driver, as previous incumbent Colapinto has left for the same role at Alpine after impressing for the British squad in his nine-round stint last year.

Jamie Chadwick, meanwhile, serves as its development driver after joining Williams in 2019 which is the year she clinched her first of three W Series titles.

Jamie Chadwick, Williams

Jamie Chadwick, Williams

Photo by: Williams

Hadjar served as Racing Bull’s reserve driver last year, when it was known as RB. But following Lawson’s promotion, Hadjar will partner Tsunoda for his rookie season leaving Racing Bulls currently without an official reserve driver.

Considering its close ties with Red Bull though, the Faenza-based squad can call on whomever is in the Red Bull pool.

Sauber

Zane Maloney and Theo Pourchaire have left the Sauber set-up since acting as reserve drivers last year. The Swiss outfit is yet to confirm who will support its all-new line-up of Nico Hulkenberg and Bortoleto before the squad morphs into the Audi works team in 2026.

Haas

Haas is also yet to announce its reserve driver for 2025 having promoted previous incumbent Bearman to a full-time seat at the American squad. One option could be Pietro Fittipaldi though, as the grandson of double world champion Emerson joined the team in 2019 and in that time has started two races due to Romain Grosjean’s crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.

In this article

Casper Bekking

Formula 1

Ferrari

Red Bull Racing

Mercedes

Sauber

McLaren

Racing Bulls

Williams

Aston Martin Racing

Haas F1 Team

Alpine

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Formula 1/Sauber

Sauber sponsor told to close UK website over ad featuring pornstar · RaceFans

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A gambling website promoting one of Sauber’s title sponsors faces closure in the United Kingdom following an investigation by the Gambling Commission.

Stake, whose name appeared on Sauber’s cars last year at races where gambling adverts are legal, will close its UK website next month.

The commission announced Stake.uk.com, which is operated by TGP Europe Limited, will no longer be a licensed website from next month. It said the action had been taken in response to a video promoted on social media platform X featuring a pornographic actress, filmed in the UK, to which Stake’s logos had been added.

“The move follows the launch of a commission investigation into a widely viewed video displaying the Stake-branded logo, which was distributed on a social media platform and featured an adult actress outside Nottingham Trent University,” said the commission in a statement.

Zhou Guanyu, Sauber, Albert Park, Melbourne, 2024
Sauber ran without Stake logos in Australia

The commission fined TGP £316,250 in 2023 for failing to take sufficient action to promote responsible gambling and prevent money-laundering.

“TGP has previously been the subject of enforcement action and after a meeting with the commission have stated they will immediately stop accepting new registrations to the Stake.uk.com platform and remove redirection links from the main Stake website,” the commission stated. “Final shutdown of the Great Britain site will take place by 11 March 2025.”

The commission said it will contact the Premier League football team Everton, which is also sponsored by Stake, and other clubs with unlicensed sponsors, to warn them over “the risks of promoting unlawful gambling websites.”

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“Clubs will be asked to demonstrate that they have assurance that any steps to geo-block the sites are effective, recognising that some blocking can be easily bypassed by use of tools such as a virtual private network,” the commission added.

Stake's UK website
Stake’s UK website advises users of its imminent closure

“Clubs will be expected to carry out sufficient due diligence to assure the commission that consumers cannot transact with the sites from Great Britain by any means. The commission will also be taking steps to independently verify effective measures are in place.

“The letter will warn that club officers may be liable to prosecution and, if convicted, face a fine, imprisonment or both if they promote unlicensed gambling businesses that transact with consumers in Great Britain.”

Sauber’s team is based in Switzerland but the decision may have implications for its activities in the UK, where it also intends to open a new engineering hub later this year.

The team entered this season under the official name ‘Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber’, as it did last year. During 2024 it appeared without Stake branding at five rounds – in Australia, Spain, Belgium, Qatar and Abu Dhabi – due to local advertising restrictions. It is due to present its new livery for the 2025 season in London next week and participate in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July.

Sauber will rebrand as Audi’s works Formula 1 entry next year. The team has been approached for comment.

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The Stake video, which appeared in December, prompted a complaint by the Coalition to End Gambling Ads to culture secretary Lisa Nandy last month. Gambling Commission data highlighted by CEGA claims as many as 1.3 million people in the UK could have a problem with gambling and a million more may “experience severe negative consequences from someone else’s gambling.”

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How Sauber’s UK hub might solve Audi’s F1 growth troubles

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Sauber opening a technical centre for Audi’s coming Formula 1 entry appears to solve one big headache for the nascent project, while also drawing new parallels with rival squad, Haas.

The news that Sauber is now searching for premises on which to open its ‘Sauber Motorsport Technology Centre UK’ means it is primarily hoping to attract F1 staff based in the United Kingdom, while also concurrently freeing up resources to spend on car development.

This is because the team’s long-serving Hinwil base has proved to be problematic as Sauber expanded ahead of Audi’s arrival.

The much higher costs of living in Switzerland compared to the other countries home to the other F1 squads meant Sauber has struggled when it comes to bringing in new staff, as it seeks to transform from a perennial midfield squad to crack works operation along with its Audi rebrand from next year.

To ease this issue, the FIA has even granted a salary cap offset within the 2026 F1 cost cap to accommodate the situation.

The governing body felt Sauber/Audi might even end up with staffing levels 30-40% down on other large-scale teams due to salary level discrepancies.

Figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) show average wages in 2022 in Switzerland were around $80,000, versus $54,000 in the UK.

Mattia Binotto, COO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Mattia Binotto, COO and CTO, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

This is where seven of the 10 F1 squads are based, with thousands of experienced and highly-trained people living in ‘Motorsport Valley’ – the area estimated to be within an 80-minute drive of the Silverstone circuit where all the UK-based F1 teams are located.

And while some are inclined to regularly decry ‘British bias’ in the championship often as a result of the high numbers of paddock personnel coming from or living in the UK, Sauber outright indicated in its press release communicated on Tuesday that this factor cannot be ignored if it wants to achieve its desired expansion and improvements.

“By creating this new facility,” the statement reads, “Sauber Motorsport aims to strengthen its presence in ‘Motorsport Valley’ and establish a platform to collaborate with top experts and attract local engineering talent for the Audi F1 Project.”

The move is significant because it not only provides Sauber/Audi with more resource room if more of its staff do not need the higher Swiss wage levels, but it also signifies the lengths the organisation is willing to go to attract additional engineering talent.

It has already secured a new team principal in former Red Bull sporting manager Jonathan Wheatley, but given top earners at F1 squads are exempt from the cost cap this is all about expanding further down the chain to benefit the whole.

Here reveals the two new parallels between Sauber/Audi and Haas, which have been on-again, off-again midfield rivals over the last decade – before the former slipped down the pecking order in 2024 while the latter gained massively.

While RB is another team in a similar position of having its facilities split across countries given the recent Red Bull push to bind the Faenza-based squad closer with the rest of its f1 operations in the UK, Sauber/Audi is now seemingly set to join Haas in having staff based across three countries.

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Nico Hulkenberg, Haas VF-24, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24, Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images

With Haas having its corporate headquarters in Kannapolis (the United States home of parent company Haas Automation), its main F1 facility in Banbury in the UK and its design office in Italy (Maranello at the Ferrari factory), Sauber/Audi already has its F1 engine development being conducted in Neuburg, Germany, as well as staffing the Swiss Hinwil factory and now the new UK office.

But this in itself provides a parallel with Haas and the lengths teams must go to in attracting employees.

As part of its plan to recover from its latest constructors’ position nadir in 2023, Haas enacted its first F1 recruitment drive last summer, as well as investing in a new team motorhome that is designed to grab the attention of rival squad staff in the paddock each race. Haas is also currently evaluating plans on whether to redevelop its cramped Banbury site or even move to a new location altogether.

Such changes were desired by former Haas boss Guenther Steiner, but getting the sign-off on such development was achieved by his successor, Ayao Komatsu. And yet, he admitted recently that the team’s staffing level remains only around “330 people” even with the recruitment phase being well over six months old.

“That’s nowhere in terms of what we [could be],” Komatsu added in a media briefing attended by Motorsport.com.

But, as is so often the case in F1, perception is critical to achieving goals.

The new Haas motorhome and potential factory changes will potentially ease its desire to have a larger F1 staff overall, as it tries to expand from its significantly lower headcount compared to other teams.

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, kicks up sparks

Valtteri Bottas, Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber C44, kicks up sparks

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images

But Haas is somewhat trapped by how much of its (lower) cost cap cash goes to funding the parts it buys from Ferrari and the designs it gets Dallara to manufacture.

Whereas, because it designs and builds so much more of its F1 car, Sauber/Audi would be able to more readily exploit the additional resources from its new facility creation.

It is also the second piece of good news that the troubled team has had since its massive management shake-up last summer, where ex-Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto was installed as overall project leader.

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The first was the Qatari Investment Authority taking a 30% stake for a reported $350 million at a time when Audi’s parent company Volkswagen had profits hit and jobs axed.

Therefore, Tuesday’s news is a further sign that the F1 team is getting elements to make itself stronger amid such a tricky position, with a further boost coming from the performance gains Sauber/Audi made to the C44 with its big floor upgrade late in the 2024 season.

In this article

Alex Kalinauckas

Formula 1

Sauber

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